EADS’s financial performance is largely driven by
activities at Airbus, the commercial airliner division. Efforts
to gain a better balance suffered a setback when the German
government was instrumental in blocking a merger proposal last
year with BAE Systems Plc (BA/), Europe’s largest defense company. The
defeat has driven Enders to review his strategy, an endeavor he
aims to complete by the middle of this year.

“You will see this year there will be a focus at all units
to ramp up production,” Enders said. Airbus also will be
concentrating on achieving the first flight of its new A350
aircraft “as early as possible” in the summer, he said.

EADS rose as much as 64 cents, or 1.9 percent, to 34.95
euros and traded at 34.85 euros at 9:45 a.m. in Paris, the
highest since April 3, 2006. The shares have gained 18 percent
this year, valuing the company at 28.9 billion euros ($38
billion).

Enders’s strategy review is particularly focused on the
defense activities, where growth has been hit by governments
including Germany cutting back their military budgets. Cassidian
delivered the highest return on sales last year and will
continue to lead the group in that regard, Enders said. The
management team that Enders put in place last year is doing “a
good job” with restructuring efforts, he said.

Headwinds for EADS may come from a variety of areas, Enders
said, including political unrest including strife unfolding in
the Middle East and North Africa, said Enders, who took over
last year. Uncertainty over U.S. budget deliberations and the
euro-zone’s financial health also are not entirely over, he
said.